Door and means for operating the same.



APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1909.

Patented June 21, 1910.

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3 SHEETS-SHEET 1' P. D. OGDEN, DEGD.

E.'0GDEN, ADMINISTRATOR.

DOOR AND MEANS FOR OPERATING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1909.

Patented June 21, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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INVENTOR Ill F. D. OGDEN, DEOD.

E. OGDEN, ADMINISTRATOR.

DOOR AND MEANS FOR OPERATING THE SAME.

APPLICATION 11.21) NOV. 12, 1909. 962,404, Patented June 21, 1910. :6 ,2 {t a SHEETS-SHEET a.

barren s'rarns PATWT onrroa.

FREDRIC D. OGDEN,

OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY; EDWARD OGDEN ADMINISTRATOR OF SAID FREDRIC D. OGDEN, DECEASED.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 21, 1910.

Application filed November 12, 1909. Serial No. 527,587.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Fnnnnro D. OGDEN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Bayonne, county of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Doors and Means for Operating the Same, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to improvements in doors and means for operating the same, and particularly to that class of doors commonly employed in freight sheds, factories, and the like where large doorway openings are required.

The main objects of my invention are to facilitate the opening of doors of this descrlption, to provide that the door shall be out of the way when opened, to reduce the extent of the path through which the door passes in its movement-when being opened or closed, and generally to improve and simplify the construction of doors of this character and the means for operating them.

In order that a door may be out of the way when opened it is convenient to so construct and arrange it that it shall move to a horizontal position above the level of the doorway, because it is less likely to be in the way of moving objects in this position than in any other, but to merely hinge the door at the top thereof and to swing the lower end outward and upward would cause the door to pass through an objectionably large path in its movement such as would take u entirely too much room in a freight shed, actory, or other place where the door is used; furthermore, a door so arranged requires a great deal of power to operate it. Both of these objectionable features are overcome by my invention, in which the door is suspended by swinging elements which are connected to the door at a point intermediate the top and bottom thereof, and in which lifting means is provided which operates in conjunction with the suspension means and with certain guides employed to lift the 'lower end of the door along the ver tical plane of the doorway while simultaneously moving the upper edge of the door through a substantially horizontal plane. The path through which the door moves in such a case is bounded on two sides by planes at right angles to each other and upon the above the final third side by a reentrant curved surface, the path or space thus included having relatively a very small area. By such an arrangement it will also be--seen that substantially no head space is needed because of the fact that no part of the door is ever raised horizontal position of the door, level with the top of the doorway. The power required to lift a door in this manner is proportionately small because of the fact that as the lower end of the door is lifted the upper end of the door moves outward without being lifted, and, moreover, a considerable proportion of the weight of the door is taken up in thrust upon the guides.

My invention consists in a door of the foregoing type iii which the door is suspensively supported by swinging supporting elements pivoted to the doorway framing at a point substantially in line with the upper end. of the door when closed and to the door about midway thereof, lifting means for lifting the lower end of the door to a point substantially in line with the upper pivotal connection of the said supporting elements, the said elements serving to guide the upper end of the door outward as the lower end is lifted and to support the outer end of the door until the door approaches the limit of its upward movement, and supplemental supporting means for supporting the outer end of the door as the door approaches the limit of its upward movement and loses the support of the said swinging su porting elements.

A further feature 0 my invention is the construction and arrangement of the parts and the application of the lifting means in such a manner as to readily break joint at the commencement of the operation to open the door. It will be readily understood that as the door is suspended practically freely in its closed position a direct vertical pull upon the lower end of the door would be substantially in the line of suspension,- and hence such a direct pull would not effect the initial transverse movement to the door ble elements of the lifting means between the point at which'they are supported overhead and the point at which they are connected to the door.

My invention also consists in certain novel combinations of parts and details of construction, such as will be fully pointed out hereinafter, and in order that my invention may be thoroughly understood I will now proceed to describe a structure constituting an embodiment thereof, having reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating the same, and will then point out the novel features in claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front view of a door and door operating mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a View in central vertical section through the door and doorway showing the door closed in full lines and opened in dotted outline. Fig. 3 is a top View of the door and ts operating mechamsm. Fig. 4 is a diagranmat-1c View showing the path of movement of the door during its movement from its vertical to its horizontal position. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic View showing one form of the relative arrangement of the suspension and lifting means. Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing another form thereof. Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing still another form thereof. Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views of one form of the means for securing the auxiliary door to the main door when the two are to be lifted together and for holding the auxiliary door in position at the lower portion of the doorway when the main door section is to be lifted alone. L

Referring to the various parts in the drawings by reference 'eharacters,10 designates the doorway framing, 11 the main door for closing the doorway therethrough, and 12 links which are pivoted at their upper ends 13 to the doorway framing near the top of the doorway and at their lower ends 14 to the sides of the door at points intermediate the top and bottom thereof, and preferably midway thereof. The links constitute the swinging suspension means for suspensively supporting the door.

Lifting chains 15 are connected to the door near the bottom thereof, the said chains leading to suitable winding drums 16 around which they are adapted to be wound for the purpose of lifting the door to open'it. A counterbalance 17 is preferably provided to counterbalance the weight of the door,

the chain for the same winding around a drum 18 which may be conveniently secured to rotate with the drums 16, or may be otherwise disposed as may be desired. The drumsmay be rotated by any suitable means, and as one such means I have shown a sprocket wheel 19 secured to rotate with the drums, and an endless chain 20 which hangs freely therefrom in a position to be readily manipulated by an operator. It will readily be understood that the construction and arrangement of the drums, the operating means therefor, and the counter-balancing means, together with the disposition of the parts comprising the same, may be varied within wide limits, and that the construction, arrangement, and disposition shown are merely selected for the purposes of illustration to render the device shown a complete and operative one. Almost any means by which power may be applied in an upward direction to the substantially vertical chains 15 will fulfil the requirements.

\V hen power is so applied the upper end of the door 11 will move outward on a sub stantially horizontal plane, such as is represented by the line aa in the diagrammatic view Fig. 4, while at the same time the lower end of the door will move in the plane represented by the line bb in the same figure. The lower end of the door is compelled to move in this plane by the fact that it is provided with studs 21 which are guided in vertical guideways 22 in thedoor frame. The studs may be conveniently provided with antifriction rollers, if desired. Tlxeupper end of the door is compelled to move in the path stated by reason of the construction and arrangement of the links 12. The links 12 will swing outward and upward about the points313 as an axis, the points 1,4 describing'an are which is represented by the line d inlFig; '4. I I

In Fig. 4 various intermediate positions of, the door are shown by a serles of oblique representing the door in any of its positions from the vertical to the horizontal, are tangent. The space inclosed by the three llnes a-a, bb, and c, in Fig. 4, will be seen to be very small and may be compared with the space which would be occupied by the door if it were hinged above the door-way, the are which would be described by the door 1n such case being represented by the line 0.

In the construction shown in- Fig. 2, I have arranged the pivotal points 13 and 14. of the suspension links 12 slightly oblique to the vertical. By this means when a vertical pull is applied to the lifting chains,

joint is readily broken at the point14 and the door will immediately commence to moveupward and outward,in other words,the

oints 13 and 14 are prevented from coming in a straight line with the line of pull at the lower end of the door. A modification of this structure is shown in diagrammatic Fig.

6, in which the links 12 are arranged in vertical lines and in a plane with the points of connection with the lifting chains 15 of eeaaoa at right angles to the line of the chain at the point 24 and an initial impulse is hence given to move the door outwardto break joint as aforesaid. In Fig. 7 the same result is obtained by arranging the chains 25, corresponding to the chains 15 in the other views, oblique to the vertical and connecting them directly with the door at a point 26 above the point 21 at which the bottom of the door is guided in the door-way framing. In this case, the links 12 may hang in vertical lines.

An auxiliary door section 27 is shown, and

the same maybe attached to the main door 11 so that it may be lifted thereby to get it out of the way when it is not required to be used; while such attaching means may be operated to release it from the main door section so that it may be employed to close the lower portion of the door-way when the main door is opened, if desired. The means for attaching it to the main door section and the means for holding it in position in the door-way independently thereof may be of any suitable character their precise construction and arrangement being wholly immaterial, but as an illustration thereof I have shown locking elements comprising studs 28 having handles 29 by which they may be operated, and lateral projections 30 for locking purposes. The studs are adapted to be inserted in one position through slotted holes 31 in the two door sections, the projections 30, when the bolts are turned, moving out of register with the slotted portions of thelholes 31, and engaging the rear face of the door section 27 so as to secure the two door sections together. Bolts 32 may also be employed for locking the auxiliary door to the doorway framing when the studs are removed and the auxil iary door section released from engagement with the main door section. These bolts may be operated by hand to force the ends thereof into openings in the doorway frame designed to receive them, or they may be arranged, if desired, to be operated by the projections 30 of the studs 28 when the studs are turned for the purposes of removal. If some such arrangement as the last described be employed, the auxiliary door section is automatically bolted in place when released from the main door section, and automatically released from the door-way framing when attached to the main door section. Because of the peculiar arrangement of the links 12 with their centers 13 close to the top of the doorway it will follow that the said links will be substantially in the plane of the door when the door is in its horizontal position and it will be readily understood" that in such a position they can have but little, if any, effect in supporting the door. For this reason I preferably supply auxiliary supporting chains 38, the upper ends of which are secured to a stationary support 34 and the lower ends to the door at 35 near the outer end thereof. These chains are designed to become taut as the door approaches its final horizontal position so as to support the outer end of the door in such osition,

the inner end'of the door being, 0 course,

supported by the lifting chains. By this means all weight is taken off the suspension links 12 when the door is in its completely opened position. The chains are arranged to be slack in every other position of the door so that they will operate only at such times as the links reach such a position as to be substantially inoperative for the purpose. From the foregoing it will be understood that in any other position than the substantially horizontal position of the door the links 11 are in tension and that this tension increases as the door. approaches the horizontal. Directly, however, the chains 33 take the weight of the door the strain upon the links is converted into compression instead of tension and the effect of this is to release the pressure of the guide studs in the guideways', in fact, the pressure of the guide studs may, at this time, be wholly relieved whereby the door will readily begin to move downward when the operating mechanism permits it to do so. While the links are under tension it necessarily follows that the studs bear with considerable force against the front of the guide, but directly the links are converted into compression members the slight movement 1nward of the door which necessarily follows owing to the jointed construction, is sufficient to wholly relieve the studs from any engagement with the guides, and this gives a freedom of movement to the upper end of the doorway which would not otherwise be obpivotally connected to a part stationary with the framing and to the door, means for liftin the lower end of the door in' substantia ly right lines, to a position substantially neutral with respect to the said supporting elements, the said elements serving to guide the upper end of the door outward during such lifting movement, and supplemental means for supporting the outer end of the door as it approaches a neutral position with respect to the said supporting elements and thereby loses the support thereof.

2. The combination with a doorwa framing having vertical guideways therein, of a' end of the. door to a position substantially in linewith the upper pivotaFeonnections of the said suspension elements, the said suspension elements serving at thetime of such the said suspension elements for supporting the outer end of the door as the oor approaches its said osition in which the lower end thereofis in ne with the upper pivotal connections" of the suspension elements, and

thereby loses the support of the said ms pension elements. v

3. The combination with a doorway framing and a door fitted thereto, of swinging links of a length equal to half the height of the door pivoted at their upper end to the doorway framing substantially in line with the upper edge of the door, and at the lower end tothe door about midway thereof, means for guiding the lower end .of the door and for lifting the same to a position substantially in line with the upper ivotal connections of the links, the said llIlkS serving to guide the door outward during such lifting movement, and supplemental means for supporting the door as it approaches the limit of its said lifting movement, and thereby substantially loses the support of the said suspension elements.

4. The combination with a doorway framing and a door fitted to the said doorway and pivotally connected in sliding en age ment at its lower end with the said aming, of means for supporting, lifting, and guiding the door while it moves from its vertical closed osition to substantially a horizontal position, com rising lifting elements connected to the ower extremity of the door and swinging suspension elements pivotally connected to parts stationary with the framing and to the door intermediate the ends thereof, and supplemental supporting means for supporting the outer end of door. movement to guide the upper end of the door outward, and means independent of the door as it reaches substantially its horizontal position, thereby relieving the swinging suspension means from tension so that as the lifting means is operated to lower the inner end of the door the said inner end will start to move downward by its own weight.

5. The combination with a doorway framing and a door member fitted thereto which is opened by the upward movemenfl of its lower end and outward swinging of its upper end, of lifting means comprising a flexible element connected therewith near the lower end thereof, the said flexible element being rearwardly deflected by a projection upon the said door member intermediate the upper end thereof and the point at which it is connected to the door, whereby the initial ull upon the said flexible element will resuft 6. The combination with a doorway framing and a vertically lifting outwardly swinging door member fitted thereto, of lift ing means including an overhead supported chain connected at its lower end with the said door member near the lower end thereof, the said door being provided with a projection above the said point of connection for engaging the said chain and rearwardly deflecting it when the door is closed, whereby the initial pull upon the chain to open the door will result in an outward thrust against the said door member.

7. The combination with a doorway framing, a main door section arranged to comletely close the doorway framing, means or liftin the lower end of the door in a vertical p ane, and guiding means for guidin an outward thrust upon the said ing the upper end of the door outward, of

an indepen ent auxiliary door section fitted to the doorway framing and arranged to close the lower portion of the said doorway, means for locking the same to the doorway framing and for releasing it from such locked engagement, means for locking the said auxiliary door section to the main door, whereby the two may be moved together, and means connecting the two said locking means together,'whereby the operation of the latter said means to lock the door sections together will automatically releasethe auxiliary door from the doorway framing, and the disconnecting of the two door sections will automatically operate the first said locking means to lock the auxiliary door section to the doorway framing.

FREDRIC D. OGDEN. Witnesses:

It is hereby certified that the name of the administrator in Letters Patent No. 962,404, granted June 21, 1910, upon the application of Fredric D. Ogden, of Bayonne, New Jersey, for an improvement in Doors and Means for Operating the Same was erroneously written and printed Edward Ogden, whereas said (name should have been written and printed J. Edward Ogden; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 5th day of July, A. D., 1910.

[SEAL] F. A. TENNANT,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

